Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to jewelry with interchangeable jewels.
Related Art
Precious jewels such as diamonds, rubies, emeralds, etc. for jewelry, such as rings, earrings, and pendants, which include such precious jewels, can be very expensive. With such jewelry, the expensive jewel is securely mounted in a setting such as the ring, earrings, or pendant. The setting is a permanent part of the jewelry and will usually be made of a precious metal such as gold, silver, or platinum. In such case, the jewel can only be worn with the setting in which it is permanently mounted, such as in a gold ring.
People like to wear jewelry that goes with cloths that the person is wearing and with the event at which the jewelry is being worn. While a jewel, such as a diamond, may go with many different outfits, the particular setting for the jewel may only go with a limited number of outfits. For example, a silver setting may go with some outfits while a gold setting may go with other outfits. Further, while a ring may want to be worn on certain occasions and with certain outfits, a pendant or earrings may want to be worn for other occasions and with different outfits. In addition, some settings may go with certain outfits for certain occasions, but the particular jewel in the setting may not. It would be desirable to be able to wear a favorite jewel in a number of different settings depending upon the outfit worn and the occasion, or to wear a favorite setting with different jewels depending upon the outfit worn and the occasion.
There are several lines of interchangeable jewelry currently commercially available which provide a number of rings, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and necklaces along with a number of inserts to be used interchangeably with the rings, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and necklaces, see for example Kameleon Jewelery (kameleonjewelry.com) and Ginger Snaps (www.gingersnapsjewelry.com). The inserts are pushed into a receiving opening in the rings, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and necklaces and pushed out when it is desired to replace the insert with a different insert. There are also commercially available rings having a threaded shank or stud extending therefrom to receive various interchangeable decorative items, such as beads and glass designs, screwed onto the shank or stud (for examples see www.etsy.com/market/interchangeable_ring). A pendant with similar threaded shank or stud extending therefrom is also available. While these jewelry systems provide jewelry with interchangeable decorative inserts, the inserts available do not include large jewels or expensive jewels and the jewelry produced with these items is not the same as traditional jewelry displaying large and/or expensive jewels. Currently available interchangeable jewelry systems do not provide the safety and security for the interchangeable items needed in order to include expensive and/or large jewels in such items.
Various applications for patent have been filed and patents issued covering interchangeable jewelry systems, see, for example, US 2013/0233017, US 2009/0100869, US 2006/0032270, US 2008/0289363, US 2004/0237587, WO 2008/053263, and French Patent No. 1,535,640. However, there remains a need for an easy to use system for interchanging jewels in settings such as rings, earrings, pendants, etc. which can securely hold such jewels in such settings, and can securely mount large and/or expensive jewels in such settings.